Gaines needs your prayers this morning. When we arrived at the hospital this morning, his oxygen was up to 50%. For those who don't know how this works, I'll offer a brief explanation. Gaines has a monitor on his foot that measures how well his body is oxygenating (remember, your blood supplies oxygen to the rest of your body)...that number is his saturation level or sat as we call it. If his sats are in the upper 90s, his nurse will reduce the amount of oxygen he's getting, low 90s to high 80s and they leave him alone. Anything below about 84 and they increase the oxygen he gets. So, since his oxygen is so increased, we know that he's not oxygenating well.
I spoke with one of the attending doctors today about this. Basically he thinks that the increased oxygen is due to fluid in (or on...can't remember) his lungs. What we don't know is how or why its there. It could just be due to being premature or it could be the VSDs (holes in his heart) becoming a problem. They have already done an EKG this morning and from the doctors assessment of that and of Gaines, I don't think they are convinced that this is the problem. They are going to do another heart echo this afternoon that should tell them more. From what I understand, the treatment either way will be to give him lasiks (a diuretic) to get the fluid out. Hopefully just one dose will work, but it could be that he has to have these regularly.
When I asked about possible heart surgery if the VSDs are the problem, the doctor told me that the lasiks would be the treatment for now and if a surgery was necessary, it would be about 3 months down the road. I'm pretty sure that this could be something that was done back home after he was released but I don't know for sure.
Please pray that the VSDs are not a problem and that a dose of the lasiks solves the problem. Pray that the fluid is just a byproduct of Gaines' prematurity. Continue to pray for his overall health and for peace for Beau and me as we continue on this journey.
Gaines is 5 weeks old today.
Love to all,
Brittany
8 comments:
I will pray for Gaines to remain strong through all of this and his parents to remain strong as well. I pray with all my heart that surgery will not have to take place and that the Dr's can get his oxygen levels under control and he can go home. I pray for him to get better so you can take him home and enjoy him and he can grow big and enjoy this thing we call life.
When they tell you having a preemie is a rollercoaster...they are telling it true, aren't they? We are praying for you each day. Our preemie is now 3...and he prays for Baby Gaines each day during his prayer time.(Samuel was 26 wks and had bilateral grade 4 bleeds) He is on the other side of the NICU now...and a joyful testimony to the power of prayer and the faithfulness of God. Be assured of our prayers. We have a heart for preemies and the families who love them....and fight for them each day.
Good Morning! Sorry to hear Gaines is having a tough go of it right now. For what it's worth, Lasix is a highly effective drug, and it's used in all age groups (even 40 year olds, like me!). The extra fluid can make you feel really rotten at times, and the Lasix helps get rid of it. For many people, the fluid builds up in the lungs too. The good news is that Lasix works quickly to help push out the extra fluid. Hopefully, it'll work quickly for him.
We're continuing to pray for Gaines and your whole family.
We're praying!!!
"What is impossible for people is possible with God" Luke 18:27
Praying and believing the Lord will heal Gaines!
Love,
Footprints Ministry
Continuing to keep you and your family in our prayers.
Brittany and Beau--
I have been praying today that Gaines will improve and not require heart surgery. Those O2 saturation monitors are notoriously unreliable on little children. I remember when Annie was in the hospital her numbers would vary greatly from hour to hour. Just keep hanging on to the fact that, even if Gaines has to have additional treatment, he WILL get better. Years down the road, he won't even remember this, and you will have to tell him about his big adventure in D.C.
I truly believe that Gaines will be perfectly healthy with strong lungs.
There's a poem that a lot of parents with special kids have found inspirational. It doesn't exactly apply to your situation because Gaines doesn't have a disability, but I think you will relate to it because of the change in expectations you've experienced. It's called "Welcome to Holland," and you can read it at: http://www.ndsccenter.org/resources/package1.php.
You family is never far from our thoughts.
Jeff and Laurie
Praying!!!
Ruthie
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